Keynote speakers

Right Honourable Paul Martin

Former Prime Minister of Canada, Co-founder of Martin Aboriginal Education Initiative and the Capital for Aboriginal Prosperity and Entrepreneurship Fund

Luncheon Keynote Address

Mr. Martin was the twenty-first Prime Minister of Canada from 2003 to 2006 and the Member of Parliament for LaSalle-Émard during the period 1988 to 2008. He was the Minister of Finance during the period 1993 to 2002, during which time he erased Canada's forty-two billion dollar deficit and recorded five consecutive budget surpluses. In September 1999, Mr. Martin was named the Inaugural Chair of the G-20.

His many achievements during his tenure as Prime Minister include: the setting in place of a major forty-one billion dollar initiative to improve healthcare; the signature of a landmark agreement with the provinces and territories for a national early learning and childcare program; the creation of a new financial deal for municipalities and the redefinition of marriage to include same-sex couples. Further, he achieved a historic consensus with the provinces, territories and Canada's aboriginal leadership on an agreement entitled the Kelowna Accord, the objective of which was to ensure the provision of equal opportunity for Canada's aboriginal population.

Currently, Mr. Martin is the Co-chair, with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathai, of a two hundred million dollar British-Norwegian poverty alleviation and sustainable development fund for the ten nation Congo Basin Rainforest. He also sits on the advisory council of the Coalition for Dialogue on Africa, an initiative that examines critical issues facing the continent. It is sponsored by the African Union, the UN Economic Commission for Africa and the African Development Bank.

Domestically, he is responsible for two new initiatives. First, the Martin Aboriginal Education Initiative, which aims at reducing the Aboriginal youth dropout rate and at increasing the number of Aboriginal students attending post-secondary institutions. Secondly, he founded with his son David, the Capital for Aboriginal Prosperity and Entrepreneurship Fund, which helps establish and grow successful Aboriginal businesses both on and off reserve.

General Rick Hillier

Chancellor, Memorial University
Former Chief of the Defence Staff of the Canadian Forces

Opening Keynote Address

In over three decades of service to his country, General Rick Hillier has remobilized support of Canadian troops, worked closely with Prime Ministers, increased Canada’s significance within NATO, and solidified Canada's reputation on the world stage. In this time of War, under enormous public scrutiny, Hillier has, time and again, made the tough but needed decisions. In terms of leadership, in terms of diplomacy, in terms of strategy, he has few peers.

Gen. Hillier has commanded troops around the world, including NATO Forces in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and was appointed Commander of the Army and Commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force Afghanistan, in 2003. Called a man of "trademark passion and urgency" by the CBC, the straight-talking Hillier has just left his post as Chief of the Defence Staff -- the highest ranking position in the Canadian Forces. For thousands of soldiers, he was a hero, a soldier's soldier," and for millions of Canadians, he was the public face of the military during this eventful and tumultuous time in its history.

But what makes General Hillier so remarkable -- and what makes him such a sought after speaker -- is not the positions he’s held but, rather, the qualities that got him there. On stage, Canada’s top soldier displays the full range of his compassion, enthusiasm and leadership acumen, drawing on his unprecedented experience and sharing the lessons that have made him one of this country’s most respected and influential public figures. A leader worth admiring -- and listening to.

Dr. Chris Dede

Timothy E. Wirth Professor in Learning Technologies, Graduate School of Education, Harvard University

Keynote Address - Learning about Teaching and Vice Versa

Emerging immersive media, such as virtual environments and augmented realities, are shaping participants' motivations, attributes, and social patterns into types of learning styles quite different than those based on sensory, personality, or intelligence factors. "Neomillennial" students seek learning situations that interweave face-to-face interactions with shared virtual-community experiences across distance and time. To meet the challenges of preparing 21st century kids, Web 2.0 interactive media can empower teachers’ learning, pedagogy, and assessment through new forms of professional development.

Chris Dede is the Timothy E. Wirth Professor in Learning Technologies at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education. His fields of scholarship include emerging technologies, policy, and leadership. His funded research includes four grants from NSF and the US Department of Education to explore immersive and semi-immersive simulations as a means of student engagement, learning, and assessment. In 2007, he was honored by Harvard University as an outstanding teacher.

Chris has served as a member of the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Foundations of Educational and Psychological Assessment, a member of the U.S. Department of Education’s Expert Panel on Technology, and International Steering Committee member for the Second International Technology in Education Study. He serves on Advisory Boards and Commissions for PBS TeacherLine, the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, the Pittsburgh Science of Learning Center, and several federal research grants. His co-edited book, Scaling Up Success: Lessons Learned from Technology-based Educational Improvement, was published by Jossey-Bass in 2005. A second volume he edited, Online Professional Development for Teachers: Emerging Models and Methods, was published by the Harvard Education Press in 2006.

Dr. Vicki Gibson

Chairman and President, Gibson Hasbrouck & Associates, Wellesley, Massachusetts

Keynote Address - Time to Do Things Differently in Education

Dr. Vicki Gibson will provide current research evidence and information that supports changing how we teach to address increasingly diverse student needs. This energetic, interactive keynote will inform and encourage educators to adjust traditional lecture format lessons and include interactive learning experiences that incorporate skill development and engaging guided practice.

Experienced at the primary level in public and private education, as well as in higher education, Vicki Gibson has a solid understanding of theoretical models and current research. Vicki is the author of Differentiated Instruction: Grouping for Success, written from the vantage point of more than 30 years of firsthand experience in a variety of classrooms. She developed the suggestions presented in the book while teaching for 10 years in public schools, then implemented them in her own primary schools and also while teaching at Texas A&M University.

The basic framework has been successfully replicated in numerous classrooms providing skills-focused, differentiated instruction for early childhood, elementary and secondary students. The author’s own curriculum, developed for her schools and published as the We Can! Early Childhood Curriculum, embraces the tenets and techniques presented in Differentiated Instruction. Vicki works as a national consultant, teacher trainer and author. She is the president of Longmire Learning Centre, Inc., in College Station, Texas.